If it feels like Penn State football has not had a Tuesday press conference for a while, that's because, it really hasn't. There was nothing the Tuesday after the Illinois game due to the bye week, and Joe Paterno's conference last week was cancelled less than an hour before it was expected to begin, setting off complete chaos outside of Beaver Stadium. Three weeks later, Tuesday afternoon press conferences finally resumed with Tom Bradley taking questions from the media before Saturday's game at Ohio State.
It would be a bit of an understatement to say that it's been a long week. Even since the news broke last weekend of the indictments of Jerry Sandusky, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz, the story has moved a breakneck pace--and it's been hard to catch up.
Our Liveblog chronicled most of the developments as they occurred, but there's plenty you may have missed during the week that was. Included below are links to all of our coverage of the ongoing scandal.
I wish I was writing this to inform everyone that Big Ten divisions are no longer being referred to as "Legends" and "Leaders". Sadly the purpose instead centers around yesterday's news that the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy which will be awarded to the winner of the Big Ten each year is now officially just the Stagg Championship Trophy. The trophy has already undergone a name change before it has ever been awarded.
Imagine trying to sell a product to consumers while just about everybody else in the world is bashing it. This was not supposed to be a real scenario; it was not part of the description when you volunteered for the job. Keep in mind that this is not some new innovative product without a track record, quite the contrary actually, as it has existed for over one hundred fifty years. It has been amazingly good to you. Currently, a few people associated with the product have tried to bring it down.
Most students probably knew little about Tom Bradley before this week. A man so humble and dedicated to this University, walking along the line shaking our hands, is just about all anyone needs to know about the kind of character Tom Bradley embodies.
For one Saturday in Beaver Stadium, it wasn't about winning or losing, it wasn't about Joe Paterno, and it wasn't even about football; It was about coming together as one. Some have publicly voiced that this game shouldn’t have been played. What good would that have done? Frankly, the sense of harmony amongst athletes, students, and alumni that this athletic contest provided made it much more than a football game, it made for a national spectacle.